By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: A large number of tourists are swarming to Chitral from different parts of the country soon after the Eidul Fitre and a great hustle and bustle is being seen in the picturesque Kalash valley of Bumburate for the last two days.
Almost all the hotels in the valley have been filled to their capacity and the tourists were seen laying their beddings in the grassy grounds along the road side in the open and cooking their meals.
The hotels including the government-run PTDC hotel were already booked for the occasion of Eidul Fitre holidays while camping place have been arranged and some of the local people have vacated their homes to accommodate the incoming guests.
The tourists have no arrangements for food and beddings badly suffered in the valley due to the limited number of restaurants and hotels who rushed to the Chitral town where they found the bazaar closed for the Eid vacations.
In Chitral city, a large number of tourists were found last year along the foot paths laying their beds there while a good number of them complained of the unavailability of food as more than 90 percent restaurants were closed.
Long queues of motor vehicles were seen on the road leading to the twin Kalash valleys of Bumburate and Rumbur where logjam of traffic was witnessed encompassing for hours which caused trouble to the local residents as well as the tourists.
Shah Murad Beg, a local visitor to the valley told Chitral Times that it took almost nine hours to travel to the main Chitral-Peshawar road from Bumburate valley while it takes one hour only normally.
He said that he had been a regular visitor to the valley on the occasions of Eid for the last many decades but he never witnessed such a large influx of tourist to the Kalash valleys.
Mr. Beg said that hundred percent tourists coming to the Chitral first visited the Kalash valleys especially the Bumburate and then come to the Chitral town for onward departure to Garam Chashma, Golen and Upper Chitral.
He said that the government has badly failed to improve the condition of road infrastructure of Kalash valleys and it were the same narrow and dirt tracks of 1970s which are in dilapidated condition and a non-local tourist travelling on this road will never come back.
